Good evening ladies and gentlemen and thank you for attending this annual general meeting of our club.
The current membership of the club stands at 113 compared to 114 at the last AGM. Quite a few older members retired during the year and have been replaced with new members who join up at a rate of three or four a month.
This AGM is being held about two months earlier than usual to tie in with an earlier date for the National club who will hold their AGM in early May. The reason for this promptness was to hopefully avoid the mid winter weather that usually prevails in June so that the national AGM could be expanded to a conference with some outdoor activities added to the agenda. Holding our meeting here this evening only 12 days after the financial year has ended has put a lot of pressure on the treasurer and she has responded magnificently by providing audited accounts just a few days after the close of the year, thank you Vivian.
Your committee have met every month, usually at Mercedes-Benz headquarters in Mt Wellington. The principal activity at each meeting is to plan and finalise activities for members but there is also a lot of work involved in keeping the affairs of the club in an organised and tidy order. To achieve this tidiness it is necessary for the secretary and treasurer to work together and keep everything up to date, I have much pleasure in commending the ceaseless work put in by Barbara and Vivian, the minutes and accounts of the club are always presented in the shortest possible time making it very easy to have an overall picture of the club at any given moment.
The events scheduled by the club this year have included a cinema evening (at this venue) in July, the mid winter dinner at La Cigale in August, a trip to the Hamilton motor museum in September combined with an afternoon visit to the Lloyd Marx workshop to view the progress on Garry’s aluminium bodied Gullwing. In November Garry & Alison led a very successful trip to New Plymouth where we spent many happy hours visiting pristine local gardens and parks. At the end of November we went to the PukekoheA& P show grounds for our annual Grass Gymkhana and then a week later we all tucked in to a Christmas lunch at Brigham Creek. In February we had the Galaxy of Cars at Western Springs followed a week later by the Tour d’Elegance and the IntermarqueConcours. The year was topped off by a super dooper Top Down Rally in March. All these events required a lot of organising and all members of the committee shared the responsibilities and contributed to a successful result in every case.
I would like to pay a special tribute to the Vice President, Garry Boyce, who has had an outstanding year. We have all been fortunate that Garry has shared his latest project with the club. The construction and presentation of his aluminium bodied Gullwing 300SL has been a fascinating story and those club members who were interested in the progress of the vehicle have been kept up to date and have been able to actually see how the work was performed. To me this was the pinnacle of the year’s activities and was crowned when Garry picked up the Masterclass trophy In February. Congratulations also to Lloyd Marx and his team who proved yet again that they are right up to the highest standards of restoration to be found anywhere.
Brian Hood has meticulously maintained the club’s membership records and shakes his head in sorrow at the never ending list of club miscreants who have failed to follow his rules and regulations. Alison has maintained our web site and magazine contributions with great diligence so that we always have the latest information up and available. Bill Bray has invested in a second barbecue which has allowed an expansion of his menu and a wider circle of clientele than was originally expected. Ken Williams with his quiet smile and vast knowledge steps in whenever the going gets tough and is a wonderful asset to the club. Which brings me to Graeme Collie. Collie is of the opinion that he is older than the president and if this is correct then my admiration for him expands even further as I cast my mind back to a rally where the rain poured down and Collie drove on regardless in his open top SSK.
On the national scene I am very pleased to report that this has been a quiet year with none of the bickering which wasted so much time in past years. The magazine has appeared regularly and in full colour, The Top-Of-The South Club has ceased to function and the Manawatu Club has been re-instated. National President Peter Shelton looks forward to welcoming you at Taupo and I would like to thank treasurer/secretary Maxine Burt for her devotion to duty and for producing the national club’s annual figures at this early stage.
This is my fifth annual report, a lot has happened over the past five years, the club is in good heart and can face the future with confidence.
David Winn
President
Newly Elected Committee:
| Patron: | Jim Hetherington |
| President: | Harald Decker |
| Vice President: | (unfilled) |
| Membership: | Brian Hood |
| Treasurer: | Vivian Decker |
| Secretary: | Barbara Lokes |
| Editor: | Alison Lambden |
| Club Captain: | Greg Lokes |
| Committee: | David Winn Ken Williams Garry Boyce Graeme Collie Chris Haliday Bill Bray Daryl Jeffery |
